In contrast to the case of serial manipulators, the analysis and design of parallel manipulators is much less intuitive. For example the boundaries of the workspace are relatively easy to determine for a serial robot — one simply extends the arm of the robot — whereas they are much more complex for a parallel robot.
Thus, algorithms must be developed for the analysis of the different properties of parallel robots, such as:
These problems have been addressed in numerous research studies in the Robotics laboratory and algorithms have been developed for various types of parallel manipulators: planar, spherical and spatial. Three graphical examples of solutions developed are shown below.